Sundaymail Editor
GOGO Runyararo and her three minor grandchildren frightfully huddled in one corner of their newly-built house as a bellicose group of five stocky men was removing the roof.
Too shocked to say or do anything, the octogenarian and her children’s brood could only cover their heads with their hands as the men went about their illegal enterprise.
Neighbours could not intervene and watched from a safe distance as this real-life drama unfolded.
Her crime: The old lady had failed to pay the builders for the work they did on her new home countless times.
Welcome to the world of builders which is pregnant with episodes of hard work, fun and drama in equal measure.
Responsible for putting up the structures we call home, builders go through a lot on an average day. If they were to write books, they would effortlessly come up with top sellers.
The rich, the poor and those of average means all require the services of builders to construct homes, fowl runs, toilets, perimeter walls and little everything else around the home.
All is usually well until financial matters come into play or until the structure is condemned by inspectors on account of poor workmanship.
Some structures do not wait for condemnation by experts. They simply crumble on their own.
“That old man made me buy expensive building material even though he knew he could not carry out the task. All the walls he put up are cracking and I have to pay for everything all over again,” a neighbour told this writer last weekend.
“A big challenge with most builders is that vanokara (They are greedy). Each time they present for work they demand sadza and meat. They do not take tea without bread and eggs and I am sure that is why they spend a lot of time than usual on a project because they want food a lot. Builders are a thorn in the flesh,” the neighbour’s wife interjected.
Gentle reader, a number of people who have hired builders have a lot of stories to tell about these characters.
“I am a church pastor and I do not subscribe to the gutter language used by these guys. They can say anything vulgar any time and they cannot be trusted with children. Imagine if members of my flock come around to find the boys using their coarse and unpolished language. Munhu anonzi bhiridha haaite,” the pastor said while throwing his hands about in disapproval.
He told a story of his relative who lost a wife to a builder he had hired.
“My nephew is ruing his decision to let a builder come and build a fowl run at his house in his absence. He found the wife gone! A builder has experience in communicating with people and often uses the skill to reach the hearts of women. My nephew’s wife is now stewing beef for a builder because she was bowled over by his sweet tongue,” the pastor said in jest.
A workmate, who spoke on condition of anonymity said while it was not a one-size-fits-all affair, most builders were untrustworthy.
“You trust the blokes at your own risk. At times they make you buy more than the qualities of cement and bricks you need so that they sell all extras. Some will exchange wheelbarrows, shovels and other tools for booze and cigarettes before lying that they were stolen. It is not unusual to be directed to certain houses for building material as if they are hardware shops,” she said.
The courts of law are awash with cases of builders facing accusations of stealing from the people who contract them to do work for them.
Builders too have axes to grind against people who hire them.
” . . . we have serious challenges with some people who do not want to pay. Women offer us sex whenever we demand our dues and we have resorted to sending our spouses to collect our dues on our behalf. Some families even set dogs on us when we need our money,” bemoaned one builder who identified himself as Matemai.
His colleagues added that some people accuse them of poor workmanship even when they buy substandard material.
“There are a lot of people who want nice things but they do not buy quality material. They want orange juice from lemons,” said one builder.
“Also, it is a pity that some people also want us to work on empty tummies and this does not bode well for the manual tasks we perform.”
Inotambika mughetto.
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